The Dalelands
The Dalelands is a system of forests and streams, so thick and close together that its as if it were one gigantic forest: Cormanthor. Each dale is independently ruled and the dales are currently at a tentative peace, though this has rarely been the case in the past. * Settlements around the great elven forest of Cormanthor, where the Elven Court resides; the area was gifted to them by the elves with the raising of the Standing Stone. Nonhumans tend to be elves, half-elves, gnomes and hobbits. * No central government, though there is the loose Dales Council to settle disputes. The individual Dales are protected by each Dale's militia. * Distrust Sembians since they swallowed a Dale, and takes the brunt of the attacks of the Zhentarim from the north. National traits * We don't have a king because we don't need a king. * Magic and heroes are all well and good, but everyone needs to eat. * There's no reason not to get along with folk who mind their own business. Class archetypes * Bard - Storyteller * Cleric - Missionary * Fighter - Constable, Militiaman, Retired * Ranger * Rogue * Sorceror - Witch/Warlock * Wizard - Apprentice, Retired, Witch/Warlock Regional feats * Blooded - just because ye're country folk don't mean ye just fell from the turnip wagon. * Forester - We know our way about the woods, not like some city folk; they can't walk from the house to the privy without gettin' lost! * Luck of Heroes - We keep our wits about us, aye, and Lady Luck favors the bold. * Militia - We're smallfolk, but even the small have teeth, and best the big remember it. * Strong Soul - Sometimes the difference between living and dying is how much you want it. Available prestige classes for this background * Arcane Archer (elf only, DMG pg.176) * Loremaster (DMG pg.191) The Dalelands are located in and around the ancient forest of Cormanthor, and are a collection of independent Dales with representatives on the Dales Council rather than a true nation. The Dales were founded after a pact was signed with the elves allowing humans access to the area around the forest, and the pact was sealed by the raising of the Standing Stone, from which Dalereckoning is counted. Now the Dales are rural lands without large cities, surrounding the retreating forest of the Elven Court. The major surviving Dales are Archendale, Battledale, Daggerdale, Deepingdale, Featherdale, Harrowdale, the High Dale, Mistledale, Scardale, Shadowdale and Tasseldale. Dalesfolk speak Chondathan with a drawl and many archaic words. The Dales are, in general, much like late medieval/early Rennaisance farming communities, with half-timbered houses in farming villages and towns. There are plenty of tiny, unremarked hamlets hidden in the rolling landscape for each larger and better-known one; cartroads lead to and from the major byways, shipping their rich harvests out to the rest of the Realms. The people are tough, down-to-earth, level-headed and independent (some would say stubborn), but have a mischevious sense of humor. They're proud of their status as independent Dales and have time and time again fought back armies trying to swallow them into other nations; the Dalesmen take the brunt of the attacks launched by Zhentil Keep to the north, and keep a wary eye on Cormyr and Sembia as well - they've lost Dales to the Zhents and the Sembans before. Like Northerners, Dalesfolk have a relatively relaxed attitude towards magic and mages, provided they aren't bothering anyone; however, criminals find them a lot more nosy than the mind-your-own-business Northerners. Still, many powerful people find the Dales a pleasant and peaceful place to retire, and the steady flow of people in and out of the region mean that Dalesfolk are a fairly mixed lot, though there's a general tendency towards brown hair and eyes. Elves get along better with Dalesfolk than almost anyone else, and the archers of the Dales are the finest in the Realms. Dalesfolk are primarily farmers and woodsmen, and considered rather backward by their more urbane neighbors. * Archendale is the richest and best-defended Dale, but also the most agressive and unfriendly. Arkhenfolk are a difficult, haughty people who regard most other Dalesfolk as backward, rustic simpletons, Sembans as spineless, lazy fops, and most other outlanders as unscrupulous vagabonds. They have the best army in the Dales, but are insufferably arrogant. Sharp and honest businessmen, few will admit to being anything but peddlers of some sort. Noted for their love of nature and, in particular, the ferns, flowers, and grasses that prosper along the banks of rivers and shallow streams. * Battledale is the most famous and most-traveled of the Dales, and the one with the bloodiest history; the open ground has played host to Dragon Reach battles for centuries. The sprawling territory is all winding lanes, rolling hills, rugged backlands and open farmland known throughout the Dales as "the Belt." Battledarrans are the most eclectic and tolerant people east of Waterdeep. It's a bucolic farming Dale full of gossipy bumpkins. The historical site of battles for the region, they're used to letting others have their own way. Those who live in the shadow of Aencar's castle are proud of their warrior heritage. * Daggerdale is a beautiful forested Dale occupied by forces from Zhentil Keep, who deposed the ruling Morn family and now struggle to fully control the Dale with punitive raids against dissenters, sometimes with unhuman mercenaries; their economy is lousy. The natural paranoia of Daggerdale's folk is both widely known and readily apparent, but the folk are quick to think on their feet. A lawless region; some say it's nothing but a giant thieves' guild. The scars of the Dale's brutal past are evident in the distrusting, almost paranoid, folk that come from this land. Daggerdalesmen are generally thoght to be cruel, surly and suspicious. Hunting has replaced much of the farming in the Dale, and what farms there are are huddled within running distance of the small, stockaded villages. * Deepingdale is known to many as "the Dale of Trees," and is the both most beautiful of the Dales and the Dale that keeps closest to the spirit of the Standing Stone pact. Deepingfolk are quiet, peaceful and in harmony with the land, and many are elves or half-elves. A Dale where Men and elves mix in harmony, and everything has been greatly influenced by the subjects of the Elven Court. * Featherdale is a prosperous country of gently rolling farms with waist-high fieldstone walls, wood lots here and there, and and small ridges of hills. The Dale has no central authority; each farm and village looks out for its own business and justice. Despite having no ruler, army, or even any towns, Featherdale has avoided annexation by Scardale, Battledale and even Sembia. Featherdarrans are easygoing, stout, sturdy, extremely patient, and have a large helping of common sense. Without education or ambition, these folks have rustic good sense and old-fashioned values. Stoic and simple, favoring their rustic lifestyle, they have little fondness for cities and their ills - such as crime. Their scouts are known for silence and hiding in plain sight, and take exception to being called thieves. Few heroes of any type come from Featherdale, not because of an absence of magical talent among the populace, only a lack of interest. The children of this region grow up tending the flocks and seeing to other chores that leave little time for the idle fancy of magic. While it is true that the sages of Featherdale seem unnaturally sagacious, it is also true they tend to be quiet and rather lacking in presence. To be blunt, they are some of the dullest people a hero would ever want to spend time with. * Harrowdale is the oldest surviving Dale, and the land shows it; roads cut through hills in deep, time-worn ditches, and crumbling stone walls, bridges that lead to nowhere and old millstones are everywhere. People are close to the old land and live in harmony with it. Much of the land is given over to herds and orchards. Harrans are a quiet, confident people, full participants in the laws of the land, and their Watchers and the mysterious, forest-ranging Gray Riders keep the towns safe. The folk are drifters and layabouts with no taste for real work, often said to be somewhat dimwitted and set in their ways. This might well be the case with many of the common folk. What some take for a lack of intelligence, however, is often only an introspective personality. This is especially true of the sages of Harrowdale, who are noted as much for their acumen as their intellect. The generally easy-going folk of Harrowdale don't see the adventures that others crave as anything worth seeking. * The High Dale is a high, cold and nearly barren earthen-floored mountain pass that's baking in the summer and icy in the winter. The insular Highdalesmen lead quiet, simple, hardy lives as shepherds, weavers and stonecutters, and have no use for ceremony or grand airs. The most famous place in the Dale is the Dancing Place, where it's said the elven gods once met, and the Harpers were founded. Thousands of followers of the Seldarine and some of Deneir, Eldath, Lliira, Mielikki, Milil, Mystra, Oghma, Selûne, Sylvanus and Tymora make pilgrimages to the Dancing Place each year. Highdalesmen have great respect for the elves, and let them alone. Of all the folk in all the Dales, there are none more well-known or respected than the Flying Archers of the High Dale. There is not a child in this land who didn't learn to use a bow as soon as he was strong enough to draw back an arrow. * Mistledale is almost entirely composed of the peaceful, fertile, well-drained, prosperous farm country that the other Dales wish they had more of, and enjoys a strategic position protected against agressive powers and raiders by the other Dales, but traversed by the important trade road (the Moonsea Ride) linking the Moonsea to the west. It's a prosperous land, the larder of the Dales, and produces more grain, hay, cattle, sheep and vegetables than any others. Mistrans are very conscious of the desirability of their land, and are a well-policed, careful, law-abiding folk, many of whom serve in the mounted, well-equipped militia; more halflings live here than in any other human community but Tasseldale. Mistrans are also wealthy and educated, with a good work ethic and plenty of common sense - "good friends and good folk." Because of Mistledale's sprawling natural landscape, their folk learn to ride horses and drive wagons at a young age. They have a natural affinity for horses of all types except those trained for battle. The mists give the Dale a reputation for hauntings, which the locals romanticize. * Scardale is a long Dale that lies along the steep-sided defile of the Ashaba known as the Scar, which runs from Feather Falls to the Dragon Reach. It's a prosperous trading community, among the largest and most powerful of the Dales, and keeps agressive outside powers at bay with the large and revered militia. Scardale Town is the most important port in the Dales. Scardalesmen are hard-working and agressive traders, tending to be both wealthier and more worldly than other Dalesfolk. They're proud, even haughty, and spend their money and free time on luxuries - there are relatively many taverns, street theaters, bookstores and schools. Scardalesmen tend to be cheerful, hard bargainers but free with their own money, fairly tolerant of foreigners, prosperous, educated, complacent in their superiority and patronizing towards other more provincial Dalesfolk. There are generally two types of folk in Scardale: Pro- and Anti-Lashan. Both attempt to exert a great deal of influence in order to attain the goals they desire. * Shadowdale is composed of dense forests, a few villages, a scattering of clan farms, and a large number of old ruins supposedly hiding treasure, which makes it popular with adventurers. It straddles the North Ride, thus controlling a major trade route, and is the Dale most open to strangers, usually ruled by a chosen outsider. Shadowdalesmen are independent farmers and homesteaders of two varieties: Dalesmen and retirees. Dalesmen are the descendants of the original settlers, and retirees are former adventurers. Both are self-reliant, strong-willed and polite if taciturn around strangers, and have a strong sense of community. Shadowdale has taken the brunt of the attacks from Zhentil Keep. Home to countless adventurers, Shadowdale is residence to far more than its share of heroes and villains; all its rogues have great style. The children grow up hearing tales of epic adventure and learning lore that those in other lands never hear of. It's only natural that they long to follow in the footsteps of the heroes they worship. The cautionary tales these heroes pass on remain with a person throughout his life, though they suffer somewhat from the fact that many of these are at least exaggerations and often outright lies. Dalesmen are the favored target of many foreign enemies. * Tasseldale is a gently sloping river valley comprised of gently rolling grasslands broken by many small coppices, farm hedgerows, and little dells. It's the richest of the Dales, and that most like Sembia. Tassadrans are fine craftsfolk, contented and well-off, but easily dismissed by other Dalesfolk as money-grubbing would-be Sembans. However, they are brave, cool-headed, efficient and patient fighters, protected by the mairshars who are the judges and peacekeepers of the Dale. Every able-bodied male of over 15 winters is in the militia. A major crossroads, the folk are familiar with the ways of many nations. There are many who say that Tasseldale is the most cosmopolitan of all the Dales. The folk here take pride in their reputation and make use of their position as a crossroads to keep informed about the news of the world. It is for this reason, many have supposed, that Tasseldale produces more bards than any of the others. The people have a natural thirst for knowledge and information which rivals that of even the most inquisitive bard. This curiosity, however, has been the downfall of many adventurers from Tasseldale.